Lion's Bride - Iris Johansen [72]
She must live.
WARE WAS FROWNING, his brow furrowed in a fierce scowl.
Something had displeased him, Thea realized without concern. On a day this beautiful it would have taken more than a frown to destroy her contentment. She sat back on her heels and watched him as he strode toward her across the green. She enjoyed seeing him move, she thought idly, enjoyed seeing the flex of corded muscle, the grace that came from superb physical fitness and a lifetime of training.
“You left me while I was sleeping,” Ware said. “I woke and you weren’t there.”
“I haven’t left your chamber in four days.” She smiled up at him as she watered the trunk of the mulberry tree. “The trees needed tending. Isn’t it a fine morning?”
“I suppose.”
“You suppose? The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the trees are growing very well in spite of my neglect. Jasmine must have been taking care of them.”
“I missed…you. I was worried.”
“That wasn’t reasonable. What could happen to me here at Dundragon?”
“I was worried. I never said I was reasonable. I don’t have to be reasonable.”
“How arrogant of you.”
“I never said I wasn’t arrogant either.” He watched her for a moment. “Don’t go away again without telling me.”
“I won’t be with you every minute of the day. Am I to go in search of you to tell you every time I move from room to room?”
“Yes.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “You cannot be serious.” She stopped as she saw his expression. “Are you?”
“You frightened me.”
“For nothing. I’ll not be bound by your foolish fancies.”
He said nothing for a moment, and then a forced smile touched his lips. “You’re right, of course. I’m not accustomed to worrying about others. My response was…exaggerated.”
She snorted with derision. “You do nothing but worry about everyone at Dundragon and beyond.”
“Not like this.” He pulled her to her feet. “And it was not only worry but fear.” He whispered, “Do you know what happens to me when I’m frightened?”
“You become surly and unreasonable.”
“No.” He drew her closer, holding her against him. “I become hard and heavy as a bull.”
The evidence of that arousal was pressed against her and was igniting a response in her. Bull, indeed. She tried to make her tone light to mask her breathlessness. “Then you must have been in terror for the past four days. One wonders what you did when you were in the midst of battle. Surely it must have been most uncomfortable for you when mounted to feel such—” She broke off as his hand pressed against her womanhood and then began rubbing slowly back and forth. “That is…not—” She had to stop as a ripple of heat shuddered through her. She tried again. “Stop.”
“Why?” His other hand fumbled at the closure of her gown, and the next moment he pushed the bodice off her shoulders and around her waist.
The sun was warm on her naked breasts, the breeze touched her nipples in a teasing caress. She could feel them swell, harden. What had he asked? “We can be seen from the castle.”
“I don’t care,” he muttered. Still, he pushed her a few steps deeper into the grove. “Better?”
“No.” The stand of trees was too sparse to hide them. “We could go back to your chamber.”
“Too far.” He pressed her back against an oak tree and lifted the skirt of her gown. “I wouldn’t get farther than the stairs.”
She wasn’t sure she would either. The feel of his chest against her bare breasts was causing her heart to beat painfully hard. “We…could try.”
He adjusted his tunic. “Now.” He cupped her buttocks in his hands and lifted her.
He plunged deep.
She cried out and clutched at his shoulders. She could feel the hard bark against her back and his hardness within her. Her legs curled around his hips, holding him as he bucked and drove.
“Ware, it’s…” She trailed off as she felt the tension mount. He was savage and rough, and she would not have him any other way. It had never been this wild before. He was like an animal and made her feel like an animal.
“Come…to me,” he muttered. His hips lifted and fell with deep force. “I need it. I need you.”
His need vibrated